Manual:Infantry Manual:Organization:Snipers

Snipers
A sniper is a specially trained infantryman who can hit a target another lifeform from an extremely long range. Not only are they a marksman, but they have to be efficient intelligence gathers. Before they neutralize a target, they have to study that target days (possibly weeks) to learn where they go, who they go with and how much security they have with them.

Snipers function as two-man teams. A spotter and a shooter. The spotter monitors the target, atmospheric conditions, ensures their location is secure and communicates such as HQ or other forward operating position. Sometimes a third person called the Flanker will be added to the team. If added, the Flanker will carry extra ammo and take on security operations for the sniper team.

Snipers are a master of their terrain. To effectively observe their target, they must blend in and become the terrain around them. A tradition of the sniper trade is the Ghillie Suit. Ghillie Suits are a form of camouflage clothing that allows the sniper to blend into their terrain.

Snipers are highly trained operators within the Infantry Branch. While they are working though their Infantry train-ing, they will be trained on both projectile & phaser weapons. The three most popular weapons used by snip-ers are the R217 10mm Rifle, R969 Phaser Rifle & R488 13mm Rifle. A phaser rifle was adopted by the SFMC to target armored & aerial objectives. It has been said that an effectively trained sniper can empty the 10-round magazine / clip of an EMPW-Based sniper rifle within 60 seconds. They can also hit a humanoid target at well over 2 km away.

Once they complete their Infantry training, they will be trained in one additional branch of service. While it is the operator's choice, the most popular branches are Special Operations & Medical. A lot of snipers will choose Medical because they can learn about the anatomy of different species. To know your opponent's anatomy will make you a more efficient killer.

The job of the sniper can be emotionally & psychologically taxing. Due to the nature of watching the same person day in & day out, psychological problems can develop over time. Two such conditions are Texas Tower Syndrome & Munich Massacre Syndrome. It is also possibly that a sniper may begin to feel an emo-tional attachment to the target. If this occurs, then its possible the sniper will ignore the order to fire when given. Finally, its also conceivable that a sniper could lose all feelings altogether. If this occurs, then the sniper will have lost the ability to determine who is friend, foe or neutral. At this point, they have become a lethal killing machine.